Iran on Monday announced that it has begun enriching uranium with 3,000 centrifuges, dramatically expanding a program that the United Nations has demanded it halt.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at a ceremony at the enrichment facility at Natanz that Iran was now capable of enriching nuclear fuel “on an industrial scale.”

Asked if Iran has begun injecting uranium gas into 3,000 centrifuges for enrichment, top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani replied, “Yes.” He did not elaborate, but it was the first confirmation that Iran had installed the larger set of centrifuges after months of saying it intends to do so. Until now, Iran was only known to have 328 centrifuges operating.

When are people going to wake up to the danger of Iran having a nuclear program? Who still believes Iran wants a nuclear program for peaceful purposes only? We had better ramp up economic sanctions on Iran and we better find a way of stopping Germany from dealing with them economically. We have to make them feel the pain economically soon or we will be bombing them.